John T. Scalish

John T. Scalish (18 September 1912-26 May 1976) was boss of the Cleveland crime family from 1945 to 1976, succeeding Alfred Polizzi and preceding James T. Licavoli.

Biography
John T. Scalish was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1912, and he became a member of the Cleveland crime family; his brother-in-law was the Mafia boss Angelo Lonardo. In 1944, he succeeded Alfred Polizzi as head of the family after Polizzi retired to Florida, and the Cleveland family reached its golden age under Scalish. Scalish was involved in casino skimming in Las Vegas, Nevada, and he had Moe Dalitz take over the failing Desert Inn from Bugsy Siegel. During Scalish's reign as boss, the Mafia also had much control over the Teamsters union, and the mob reached its peak strength of 60 made members during the 1950s. However, he did not induct new members, and the mob's strength began to decline over the years. In 1976, Scalish died during heart surgery, and James T. Licavoli succeeded him as boss.